22. Cory Joseph
Our first NBA Champion featuring on the list now, and one of my personal favorites. A hometown boy, of Pickering returning home as a free agent a year after winning a title with the San Antonio Spurs.
Joseph signed a four-year $30 million contract and requested to wear the number six upon arrival. So that settled the fan-favourite status pretty quickly. Joseph was signed as the back-up to the evergreen Kyle Lowry and performed admirably as the initiator off the bench while also filling in numerous times for Lowry as a starter, including in the 2016-17 playoffs.
He endeared himself to the Raptors faithful early on in his first season, draining a three at the buzzer to beat the Wizards 84-82.
If that doesn’t get you going, not much will. Joseph gave the Raptors some much-needed energy off the bench, the Raptors bench averaged only 29 points a game in the 2015-16 season but Cory Joseph did his best to lead the unit in crucial moments.
Joseph stepped up in the 2016-17 season, averaging what is still a career-high in points at just over nine per game. Lowry had a multitude of injury concerns during the regular season, forcing Cory Joseph into the starting role for 22 games.
CoJo had his first career double-double against Orlando a few months after scoring a career-high 33 points against the Brooklyn Nets.
His Canadian homecoming was cut a few seasons short in the summer of 2017, Joseph was traded to the Indiana Pacers in a sign-and-trade for C.J. Miles. While it was short-lived, Joseph gave the fans some special moments to cherish.